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Grinch steals truckload of noble firs from charity tree lot BRENT RICHTER brichter@nsnews.com
Life imitated a Dr. Seuss’ Christmas classic last Friday when some Grinch cut their way into a charity Christmas tree lot in Lower Lonsdale, and made off with a load of tannenbaums.
For the last 20 years, Aunt Leah’s Place has been using volunteer-run Christmas tree lots to raise money for programs aimed at preventing children in foster care from becoming homeless, and young mothers from losing custody of their children. When volunteers arrived at the relatively new lot at 123 Carrie Cates Ct. on Dec. 2, they found that someone had cut the fence open and stolen a swath of trees. The thief targeted the choicest seven- and eight-foot noble firs, which sell for $16 a foot. With roughly 30 gone, plus the cost of purchasing them wholesale, Aunt Leah’s is out roughly $5,000. “This is our biggest fundraiser of the year, said Angelina Oates, Aunt Leah’s director of social enterprise. “It basically means we’re just going to have to (raise funds) that much harder throughout the year after Christmas to make up for the loss. We rely a lot on our fundraisers to
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Spencer Dodge, volunteer with Aunt Leah’s Place charity Christmas tree lot in Lower Lonsdale binds some fir trees ready to be purchased. Someone broke in and stole 30 choice trees on Dec. 2, hurting the charity’s bottom line. PHOTO MIKE WAKEFIELD
Property assessments to rise 30-50% JANE SEYD jseyd@nsnews.com
Homeowners on the North Shore should brace for some sticker shock when they receive their property assessment notices next month.
Many single-family homeowners in both North Vancouver and West Vancouver will see their property assessments rise between 30 and 50 per cent over the previous year, the B.C. Assessment office is warning. “Those would be some of the higher increases in the province,” said Jason Grant, area assessor. “I’ve been in this position 12 years. It’s certainly the highest increase I can recall in the past decade.”
Letters warning of even greater hikes go out to 4,500 homeowners Assessment hikes on the North Shore are similar to increases being seen throughout the Lower Mainland, said Grant. They also come on top of the 15 to 25 per cent increases in assessments a year ago. Grant said it’s important to remember that “large increases in assessments do not always translate into large increases in property taxes.” How much property taxes increase for individual
owners has more to do with how that property’s increase in assessed value compares to the average increase in their area, said Grant. Those whose increases are much higher than the average can expect to pay higher taxes. Homeowners who fall into that category will see early notification letters arriving from the assessment office within the next week. Only property owners whose assessments have gone up 15 per cent higher than the average increase in their community will receive a letter. About 4,500 homeowners out of a total of 70,000 property
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